After a three-decade stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its ornate costumes created by style icon Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed commentators who described it as a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the showgirl style, is back.
A Master of Sparkle
Referred to as the “king of sparkle”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glitz his signature style, dressing everyone from screen legends to Madonna. Earlier this month, a “barely-there” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its initial estimate, while a metallic tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 show sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they knew from childhood”, he explained to a publication. “Contemporary performers are striving for a theatrical, more theatrical, breathtaking, memorable statement.”
The Musical Resurgence
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 thanks to a global pop icon. In the past few months, the cultural juggernaut wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her latest record. The bedazzled bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, showgirl inspirations have been embraced by pop stars including Sabrina Carpenter as they whizzed across arena stages in glitter, cut-outs and ostrich feathers, highlighted against overstated sets. Her fashion curator Lorenzo Posocco mentioned in an interview with a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – drawing from pictures from the mid-century, her performers wafted giant feathered fans.
Pulling from History
These artists and other chart toppers also take inspiration from 19th-century performances, including vaudeville and ensemble references. The results are poles apart from the late-century Britney Spears era of crop tops and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But some critics are on board with this showgirl renaissance. Nancy Hardy, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word term is being “treated as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly modern pop stars.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Style
For millennial and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress gave a nod to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actor wore a semi-sheer beaded dress made by the designer in 2001, which was reminiscent of one he made for Cher to wear in 1967. Subsequently, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn previously to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a trio of retro Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a favorite among vintage enthusiasts.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, an expert at the University of Nevada, who studies the history of showgirls. “Now it is considered a sort of ‘toned-down’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the glitter but without the exposure.”
A Than Simply Style: An Symbol of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are central to the identity of Sin City. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas currently lacks any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still featured as an logo of the city, appearing at gatherings and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining icon of Las Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Appeal of Escape
The former showgirl says the transformative effect of a showgirl persona is part of the attraction. This idea the singer alludes to in a new behind-the-scenes film that documents the behind-the-scenes action from her massive 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling practice sessions, training and countless shows across dozens of cities, each lasting 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like completing an endurance race in high heels every night”. Her feathered headdress tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s easy and beautiful and magical.”
Maybe this is where the appeal of the showgirl really resides. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to look to than showgirls, who have always personified dreams, perfection and a universe where nobody falters.
